The lack of successful reforms of the internal dimension of migration policies, as witnessed by the stalemate of the recast of the ‘Dublin Regulation’ and by the disappointing fate of ‘relocation schemes’ for migrants across Member States, creates a fertile ground for proliferation of policies of externalisation of migration controls. These aim at creating transnational governance structures geared at sharing the administration of the preventive containment of migration flows directed to Europe. In the words of a layman, Europe pays to keep migrants away from its territories (see EUObserver article ‘Will the EU continue paying to keep migrants away?’, 9/9/2019). The informalisation of readmission and cooperation agreements with third states, the increased relevance of executive governance actors in border controls, the cooperation with Third Country governments in operational settings (information-sharing for risk analysis, return operations) are trends growing exponentially. These recent externalisation practices suggest the creation of governance avenues characterised by a transfer of functions and responsibilities to third-country organs and/or delocalisation of control practices to third-country territories. In this way law, European law specifically, is being set aside (X-LAW). In a first phase, the described tendencies will be mapped and their specific features will be conceptualised. In the second part, the project will analyse the legal consequences of externalisation practices previously mapped. In the third part, the project will focus on accountability mechanisms for the transnational governance systems created. X-LAW is relevant for the Work Program 13: ‘Europe in a changing world’ of the H2020 Work Programme 2018-2020, in particular for the calls Migration 02-2018 and Migration 07-2019.